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The Effect Of Halophilic Organisms On Salt Production

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Halophiles have been commercially significant for centuries, with the earliest recorded case being that of ancient China and Middle East, where reddening of solar salterns as a result of growth of halophilic microorganisms was used as a biomarker of successful salt production (DasSarma et. al 2009). Today the role of halophilic organisms in salt production has evolved to facilitate rapid evaporation of salt crystals due to increased absorbance of light by their red-purple pigments. The purple membrane of the halophilic archaea that enables them to grow phototrophically and carry out phototactic responses contain the light-driven proton pump, bacteriorhodopsin, and sensory rhodopsins. Molecules like bacteriorhodopsin are especially of industrial interest because they are stable over a wide range of temperatures, usually between 0◦C and 45◦C, and pH values, usually between 1 and 11 (Ventosa and Nieto 1995). Moreover, the reactions of bacteriorhodopsin can be manipulated genetically, chemically or immunologically and are self-regenerative. Therefore, the ability of these biomolecules to convert the energy from light to chemical energy in a non-chlorophyll system has various industrial applications. For one, bacteriorhodopsin can be utilized as light sensors and for optical data processing or nonlinear optics. It is currently also being proposed for producing erasable photochromic film (Hampp et. al 1992). Furthermore, bacteriorhodopsin can also be used as a light sensor as they

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